Vice State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân speaks at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK Vice State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân suggested empowering women and girls in science, technology and digital transformation while addressing the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York on March 11 (local time).

The work should go in tandem with the fight against discrimination and violence in cyberspace, she said, stressing the need to promote women’s role in building an international environment of peace, stability, and inclusive and sustainable development, and handling non-traditional challenges, especially climate change.

Women should be given opportunities to maximise their capability in economic, political and social activities, and further engage in decision-making mechanisms in these fields, especially economy, Xuân continued.

The Vice President called on UN countries to work together to enhance partnership for sustainable development, and provide financial support and policy consultations for developing nations.

She used the occasion to brief the participants on Việt Nam’s achievements in ensuring gender equality, elaborating that female National Assembly deputies make up 30.3% of the total seats; and female labour force participation, 70%.

In January, Việt Nam issued a national action programme on women, peace and security for 2024-2030, Xuân said, affirming that the country stands ready to closely cooperate with others and partners for gender equality, and women’s and girls’ empowerment, ensuring that no one is left behind.

At the session, UN leaders expressed their concern about the stagnant implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially that on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, saying one in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty.

UN leaders emphasised the need to ensure finance and enhance institutions to fully put in place the 1995 Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and strengthen women’s economic empowerment.

The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

On the same day, Vice President Xuân met with Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner, during which she hailed the leadership role of the UNDP within the UN development system, particularly in advancing the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

She thanked the organisation for its continuous support to and partnership with Việt Nam in the country's reconstruction, development, and national-building efforts over the past nearly 50 years, with total assistance nearing US$1 billion.

Xuân spoke of Việt Nam's efforts in implementing the Socio-economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period, and the Socio-economic Development Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period, including maintaining macroeconomic stability, addressing climate change and natural disasters, transitioning growth models towards green, sustainable and inclusive development, as well as advancements in the Human Development Index (HDI) and gender equality.

She highly appreciated UNDP's cooperation in implementing the Việt Nam-UNDP Cooperation Programme for the 2022-2026 period, as well as in the draft outline of the Resource Mobilsation Plan for implementing the Việt Nam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

The leader suggested the UNDP continue financial and policy assistance for Việt Nam, help the country improve its capacity to implement the aforementioned priority policies, support the socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta region, and mobilise adequate resources from development partners to ensure the implementation of these tasks.

For his part, Steiner congratulated Việt Nam on its great achievements thus far, describing them as a source of encouragement and substantial contribution to implementing the UN’s priorities.

He said Việt Nam and the UNDP share common priorities regarding green and digital transformation, affirming that international organisation stands ready to support Việt Nam in achieving its commitment of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and in implementing the JETP, accelerating decarbonisation processes and ensuring affordable access to clean energy. It will act as a bridge between Việt Nam and international donors, as well as among the Mekong River basin countries, to support Việt Nam in meeting its set objectives.

The two sides agreed to maintain close collaboration to enable Việt Nam to make more significant contributions to UNDP's global efforts in promoting sustainable development. VNS